I really like this. Londoner Daniel Lea is apparently influenced by World War 2 but war zones couldn’t seem further away when relaxing to the excellent opener ‘Moon Lake’. Lea’s voice reminds me of Daniel Victor Snaith (Caribou) but in folk-infused surroundings. The luscious organ playing on ‘Her Spirit Knows’ and weird synth effects create a music landscape of great comfort, before crunching guitar chords and violins cast a warm glow on Daniel Lea’s sound world. You get the impression that Lea wants his songs in a film, and this is where they would flourish, rather than my headphones. The frustrated guitar ostinato of ‘Blood Red Tears’ wants to burst out into something bigger, a cocoon almost, serenaded by Lea’s smooth vocal work. An impressive first half. Now for the intermission. Get yourself a drink.
The second half begins. ‘Nothing Gold’is the moment in the film where the protagonist is mulling over the key scene. It’s not the most interesting part of the experience, but it keeps the whole thing going. ‘Now The Fire’s Gone’ is VERY Sigur Rós, but definitely in a good way. This is the moment where in the film where the protagonist gets him/herself mentally prepared for the film’s finale, ‘The Burning’, which doesn’t disappoint. To make another lazy but apt comparison, it sounds like Mogwai’s soundtrack for the Zinedine Zidane film. Astounding stuff. I’ve probably paid too much for the ticket and the screen room had some noisy kids in it but Day of the Burning is an astounding piece of work, and if it were a cinematic experience, I’d never be out of the cinema.